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Two questions: how long did you train raw before moving to bench shirts and how frequently do you train in gear?

Mike, I started lifting consistantly when I was about 24-25 years old...all raw as conditioning for being a police officer. I figured the stronger I was, the easier & safer my job would be. So that would be about 24-25 years raw training. I began lifting in gear about 2004. Since then I lift in my bench shirt every week, if possible. I usually take the week off before a meet and a week off after a meet. Last year(2011), I competed in 9 meets, so that would be 18 weeks out of the shirt. At times, you have to listen to your body and know when you need a "deload" week.

Roger...do you stick to a specific program and group of assistance exercises, or is your program fluid?

I guess you would call it fluid. Normally I try to work my assistance days around my ME bench day. Since I only compete in bench only, that is the focus. I try to maintain a back day, leg day, and upper body support(DE bench stuff w/ other bench assistance. The days may vary depending on what day the ME bench day is going to be. My latest training cycle had ME bench days on Saturday, so I would work around that.

Right now I'm nursing a shoulder injury, so training has almost come to a halt. Only hitting the gym twice a week to try and maintain some strength while doing rotator rehab twice a day with LOTS of ice.